


Found out

by NotWhoYouThink131



Series: Little Hamilton [8]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Caregiver!Thomas, Conflict Resolution, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, James is a jealous bean, Little!Aaron, Little!James, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pants wetting, Past Abuse, Tragic backstory unlocked, Trans Aaron, for once, scared baby Aaron is scared, technically changing?? ahh??
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-06-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 20:23:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10726548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotWhoYouThink131/pseuds/NotWhoYouThink131
Summary: Attached to the text is a picture of a dark purple pacifier with a small cat on the front of it. The picture Thomas has been staring at in surprise for ten minutes. It could have been possible for Aaron to accidentally put one of James’ pacifiers in his pocket the last time he was babysitting, maybe take it home and forgot to bring it back, but there was one problem. James doesn’t like purple. Or cats.





	1. Chapter 1

Thomas has been staring at his phone for over ten minutes.

The message on the screen from Theo is nothing more than a few words and picture, but Thomas has found himself so surprised that he can’t think of what to say. He scrolls back up a bit to see the text he received when he got to work:

Theo: Hey, I think my dad has James’ pacifier.

Attached to the text is a picture of a dark purple pacifier with a small cat on the front of it. The picture Thomas has been staring at in surprise for ten minutes. It could have been possible for Aaron to accidentally put one of James’ pacifiers in his pocket the last time he was babysitting, maybe take it home and forgot to bring it back, but there was one problem. James doesn’t like purple. Or cats. Thomas knew better than to buy a binky with both. This couldn’t belong to James. But then, why does Aaron have it?

T.Jeff: Naw, I don’t think it is. Maybe he bought it for the baby?

Theo: It was on his bedside table.

T.Jeff: It ain’t James’.

Theo: Well then who’s is it?

Thomas hears the elevator at the end of the hall, followed by a soft, “Morning, Burr.” from Washington. Thomas hears Aaron mumble something and head into his office, and Thomas glances at Alex. Alexander is hunched over his desk, staring at the screen blankly as he types rapidly at the laptop.

T.Jeff: I don’t know. Why would your dad have a binky in his room?

Theo: That’s what I want to know. It isn’t one of my old ones, it looks brand new, so where did he get it?? I wanted to ask him where he got it, but he hasn’t texted me back yet.

T.Jeff: I dunno. He just got here tho, I can ask him

Theo: Go for it.

Thomas gets up and slinks to Aaron’s room, a little surprised Alex didn’t try to scold him for leaving his desk so early in the workday. When he gets to Aaron’s office, he finds the man just setting up his work for the day, everything neat and organized. “Good morning.” Thomas says.

“Hello, Thomas,” Aaron says. “Is James out today?”

“No, he’s in his office.” Thomas says. “I just heard you come in and thought I’d say hey.” He pauses for a moment and says, “I want to ask you something.”

“Oh?” Aaron finally looks at Thomas.

“Yeah, um… Theo asked me if this was James’, but it’s kinda… Not.” Thomas holds his phone out, and Aaron’s face starts to take a sickly color. “I’m assuming you know where it’s from?”

“It must’ve been from James, he’s the only person I know who…” He trails off a bit, but quickly recovers. “Uses a pacifier.”

“James is allergic to cats,” Thomas says. “Doesn’t really like binkies with cats, either.” Thomas can feel an idea nudging at the back of his mind, but he quickly tries to fend it off. There’s no way Aaron could be…. He wouldn’t…

“You sound like you’re accusing me of something,” Aaron says. “What exactly are you implying, Jefferson?”

“I’m not implying anything.” Thomas says. “Theo just wanted to know where it came from, and now I’m curious too.”

“Well maybe you should mind your own business.” Aaron snaps, looking back down at his stuff. “Theo should, too.”

It can’t be…

“Mind our business?” Thomas says. “So this is yours?”

“Of course it’s mine, Thomas,” Aaron sighs. He’s no longer making eye contact with Thomas. “You already know there’s no point in hiding it-”

Thomas closes the door with a gentle kick and sits in the chair across the desk, propping up his head with his arms on Aaron’s desk. “Tell me everything.”

“Oh, no no,” Aaron says. “This isn’t your business, get out of my office.”

“Come on,” Thomas whines. “I wanna know~ How long have you been Little?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Aaron says. “Because you’re going to forget all about this and never speak of it again.”

“But Aaron~!” Thomas pouts. “You trusted me with your last secret, trust me with this one too!”

“First off, that’s not how this works,” Aaron glares at him. “Second off, I didn’t trust you with it so much as you found out.”

“Well, I found out about this too, so start spilling,” Thomas says. “How long have you been Little? How old are you? Do you have a any caretakers?”

“One at a time, Thomas,” Aaron sighs. “I’m not even technically sure if I should count as being Little yet. I was just…. Experimenting.”

“Experimenting?” Thomas says. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I just…” Aaron shrugs. “I saw how James was when he was Little and I wanted to… See what it felt like.”

“So you went to the trouble of buying a pacifier instead of just stealing one of ours?” Thomas snorts.

“I know how… Germophobic James can get. He’d throw a fit if I used one of his pacifiers and then had the audacity to give it back to him.” Aaron chuckles. “Besides, red isn’t really my favorite color.”

“Is the binky all you have?” Thomas says.

“Well, no.” Aaron says, glancing towards a drawer in his desk. “I have a sippy cup hidden away.”

“Is that all?” Thomas asks.

“Um…” Aaron glances at the drawer again. “I have… This.” He opens the drawer and takes a couple seconds before pulling out a small stuffed skunk. The skunk has a small purple ribbon around its neck and the fur on the left ear is matted down. “I bought this with the pacifier and the sippy cup.”

“He’s cute.” Thomas says.

“She,” Aaron corrects. He blinks a few times and looks down at the skunk. “I mean…. Uh… Yeah, whatever.”

Thomas snorts. “Okay, she’s cute. What’s her name?”

“Jamie.” Aaron says, running a finger over the matted ear.

“Jamie?” Thomas smiles. “Hm, wonder where that name came from.”

“Shut up.” Aaron’s face heats up and he looks down.

“So, when did you buy all this?” Thomas asks.

“When I first found out about James.” Aaron says. “I was curious in what kind of reward he’d get from having such a headspace, but, I uh… I kind of understand now.”

“How old are you?” Thomas asks, still watching the way his hands move delicately over the skunk’s fur. “You chew, so you’re probably pretty young.”

“I haven’t actually thought of putting a number on it yet.” Aaron says. “I don’t think about anything really. I just… Do.”

“So I’m assuming you don’t have a caregiver, ether.” Thomas says. He tries not to sound sad about it, but he remembers how lost James was without a caregiver, how scared he was whenever he fell into headspace. Imagining Aaron doing that, only knowing that kind of approach to being Little….

“Not yet.” Aaron says. “Like I said, I don’t have anything organized, I just kind of do it.” He shoves the skunk back in his desk. “Can I get to work now, Thomas, or is your interrogation not over yet?”

“I’ll go,” Thomas smiles. “Glad we sorted that out, Burr.” He stands to go.

“And, um,” Aaron says once Thomas turns to go. “Don’t mention anything to Theo.”

“Yes, sir.” Thomas says. He makes his way back to his office and is surprised to, once again, find Alex silently working instead on making snide comments at him.

Once Thomas sits down, he texts Theo back.

T.Jeff: It’s James’, I must’ve forgotten about buying him that one.


	2. Chapter 2

About 2 days later Thomas gets the shit scared out of him.

He’s just settling in for the night (James went to bed like 3 hours ago, like some kind of elderly bastard- Who the hell goes to bed at 9:30?) when his phone starts buzzing like crazy, signalling tons of text messages. He was in the bathroom when the first round started going off, washing his face and trying to tie his hair back to avoid having it in his face. When he finally emerges from the bathroom, he sees his phone lighting up and picks it up to find there are 38 texts from Aaron, almost none of them making sense. The only ones he can decipher are something along the lines of, “I think I need you” in very shady spelling and one that was just a picture of Aaron’s kitchen counter covered in milk and- glass? Oh Lord, what did he do?

T.Jeff: Aaron call me

He waits a few minutes, then answers his phone before it’s done with the first ring. “Hello?”

“Th-Thomas?”

Thomas’ heart pauses for a moment. That’s Aaron’s voice, sure, but he’s never heard Aaron sound so… Vulnerable. So helpless. Aaron has always sounded so stone cold, with a rare inflection here and there (Especially when talking to Alex), but now he sounded completely different. “Yeah, I’m right here, Aaron.”

“I-I need help.” Aaron whimpers. “I-I was trying to get milk, but I-” Thomas cannot hear the rest because the boy starts babbling, his voice rising into hysterics.

“Aaron, Aaron.” Thomas says, getting up and leaving the room so he doesn’t disturb James, who is starting to toss and turn in his sleep. “Aaron, I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? I can’t hear you if you’re crying like that.’ Never did he think he’d have to listen to Aaron sob like he was now. That’s one of the hardest things about being a caregiver, their crying doesn’t actually sound like a baby or toddler crying. It sounds like grown adults crying, a noise that always haunts Thomas and always will haunt him. All he wants is to make Aaron stop crying, he doesn’t want to see that side of Aaron.

Aaron takes a shaky breath and he calms his breathing a bit. “A-A glass fell from the cabinet and landed on the counter and broke, and I dropped my c-cup.”

“Where’s Theo, honey?” Thomas says.

“She’s at a friend’s house,” Aaron says.

“You’re all by yourself?” Thomas gasps. He knew Theo didn’t know about Aaron being Little, but that would still count as someone in the house in case something like this happened. Aaron is really all alone right now, crying and scared. Thomas wouldn’t dare imagine his little Madi all by himself in the house; someone is always here to watch him.

“Yeah,” Aaron says. “I-I wanna be alone when I use my sippy cup and my binky.”

“You don’t want her finding out.” Thomas sighs. “Fuck.” He wince as soon as the word leaves his mouth, but Aaron doesn’t correct him. Thomas peeks in at James and makes a face. “If I come get you honey, can you come back to my house with me for the night?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Aaron says. “You should hurry, though-” The next couple words Thomas can’t understand because Aaron mumbles them, but soon he hears the dial tone on the other end of the phone.

“Ah, jeez.” Thomas sighs. He tiptoes back into his bedroom and gently shakes James. He opens his eyes just longer enough to nod when Thomas says he needs to go get Aaron, then he goes right back to sleep.

Thomas slips out the door without any other noise.

When he opens the front door, Thomas makes his way quickly to find Aaron. He checks the kitchen first, but is confused when he finds it empty. He sees the shattered glass on the counter and the floor, the sippy cup laying in the middle of the floor, and the large spill of milk dripping down the cabinets and all over the floor. Thomas notices a large clear spot near the table, and Thomas doesn’t bother getting any closer to investigate it because he can smell the thick aroma from the doorway. He’s spent enough time with James to know that smell. Poor Aaron, got so scared he had an accident. That’s probably why he told Thomas to hurry.

“Aaron?” Thomas turns and calls throughout the rest of the house. “Aaron, it’s me. I’m here to take you back to my house. Aaron?” He walks down the hallway, following a thin trail of urine all the way to Aaron’s study. Once he’s inside, it’s obvious where Aaron is; he hiding behind a velvet set of curtains, his socks sticking out at the bottom. “Aaron?”

The curtains shift a little, and Aaron peeks his head out, brown eyes watery and staring helplessly at Thomas. “Thomas?” He sniffles.

“Hey,” Thomas says softly. “It’s me.”

Aaron races out and wraps his arms around Thomas, letting out a twisted sob. “Thomas!” Thomas is caught off balance- both figuratively and physically- and he topples onto the floor. Aaron yelps and scrambles to get up, trying to keep Thomas’ clothes from getting wet. Thomas frowns at the ruined state of Aaron’s pants and sits up, petting his head. “I-I’m sorry!”

“Hey, hey,” Thomas says. “You’re alright, honey, shhh.” He gets up and pulls Aaron to his feet. “You should uh, get cleaned up before we head back to my-” Thomas can’t finish the sentence before Aaron resorts back to sobbing. “A-Ah! What’s wrong, honey?”

“I-I can’t clean up b-by myself!” Aaron sobs, hiding his face in Thomas’ shoulder.

“Why not?” Thomas frowns. “Are you too little, sweetie?” He feels Aaron nod, and he sighs softly. “Can I help you clean up?” He feels Aaron’s breath catch, then start to get quicker, signaling another round of sobs approaching. “I don’t have to,” He says quickly. “I just don’t want you to sit in wet pants until you get big again.” He rubs Aaron’s back gently, between his shoulder blades, and sees Aaron’s gaze fall on his pants.

After a couple minutes of deliberative silence, Aaron whispers, “Okay.”

“Are you sure?” Thomas says. “I don’t have to.”

“It’s okay.” Aaron bites his lip and fidgets with the bottom hem of his shirt. “I-I gotta get changed.” One hand trails down to Thomas’ hand and holds it while the other gets shoved into his mouth.

“Hey,” Thomas chuckles, pulling his hand from his mouth. “That’s not what goes in your mouth, honey. Where’s your binky?”

“Downstairs.” Aaron says. “Kitchen.”

“Oh.” Thomas makes a face. “Well, shit.” He leads Aaron to his bedroom and lets him lay down. “I’ll go get it for you, but you gotta stay here, okay?” Aaron nods and Thomas makes his way quickly to the kitchen when his phone buzzes.

J.Mads: Where are you?

T.Jeff: I told you I had to go to Aaron’s for a second. I’ll be omw home soon.

J.Mads: Okay..

Thomas sighs. He knows those two periods means he’s either mad or sad, and he’ll have to face whichever one when he goes home. He picks up the pacifier and rinses the milk off of it, then tosses a few dish towels onto the spilled milk. He quickly makes his way back to Aaron’s room. “I found your binky. I’m gonna help you get cleaned up, then we gotta…” His voice trails off. “Oh.”

Aaron has already stripped his lower half and is now just laying on the bed naked from the waist down, chewing on his hand with the pile of soiled clothes off to the side. When he sees Thomas, he gives a shy smile and waves. Thomas waves back and shakes his head, refocusing on the task at hand. It’ll just make Aaron upset if he stares.

“Okay, um,” Thomas says. “Here’s this.” He hands the binky to Aaron, who pops it into his mouth and grins. “Do you have any pull-ups or diapers or anything?”

Aaron shakes his head. “I don’t need those!” He says around the pacifier. “I’m a big boy!”

“You’re a big boy?” Thomas chuckles. He goes to get a washcloth and soak it in warm water. “Then why are we in this mess?”

“B-Because I had an accident,” Aaron pouts, crossing his arms. “But this is the only time it’s happened. I don’t pee myself!”

“Oh, sure~” Thomas chuckles. “This is the second time you’ve peed yourself in my presence. Remember when you were sick?” He comes back with the washcloth and starts washing Aaron’s thighs and down his legs, where he knows the piss must’ve gathered. He tries to avoid staring where his thighs meet at his hips, but it’s so weird to see Aaron attached to… This body.

“But that was because I was sick!” Aaron pouts. He doesn’t seem to be fussy with being cleaned, and Thomas is sort of glad for it, because here come the part. The part that’s going to make this Little one Big again and probably punch Thomas. Welp, it’ll be worth it. Kind of.

“So you only have accidents when you’re sick?” Thomas tries to keep his expression neutral as he begins to clean Aaron’s privates. Aaron’s face twists up a little, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to start crying- or punch Thomas- so Thomas quickly finishes the job and tosses the cloth over with the soiled clothes. “There we go, all clean.” Without thinking about it, he places a kiss on Aaron’s head, then heads towards the closet to get clothes.

Aaron gasps softly when Thomas’ lips brush his forehead, and he blushes. He can’t help but have a small lapse in headspace at the surprise of Thomas being so welcoming. He knew Thomas was going to be nice about this, but he didn’t know just how nice Thomas was going to be about this. There has to be a line somewhere, and if that wasn’t it, Aaron wasn’t sure what it was.

Thomas come back in with clothes and hands them to Aaron. “Can you get dressed, or do you need help?”

“I can do it,” Aaron nods. He takes the boxers Thomas handed him and pulls them on slowly, grabbing the pajama bottoms and starting to pull them on.

“Backwards.” Thomas says. After a pause, Aaron realizes what he means and blushes as he pulls them off and starts putting them on the right way. “There you go.”

Aaron smiles. “All done.”

“Yep.” Thomas pats his head. “Now let’s get the kitchen cleaned up so you can come back to my house.” He takes Aaron’s hand and leads him to the kitchen. He picks up the dish towels he littered the floor and counter with earlier and tosses them in the sink. He turns on the water and turns back to Aaron. “Get me a few more rags, please.” While Aaron runs to get more rags, Thomas works on washing out the milk from the previous rags. He catches a glimpse of broken glass on the floor and kicks it closer to the trashcan. His phone buzzes again.

J.Mads: How much longer?

T.Jeff: I need to help him clean something up, can you give me a minute?

J.Mads: Yeah, I just really want you home.

T.Jeff: I’ll be home soon, hon.

Aaron comes back with a new set of rags and Thomas starts wiping up what’s left on the counter. “Can you get the floor honey?” He asks. “Watch out for any glass.”

Aaron nods and starts drying the floor. “Was that James?”

“Yeah,” Thomas says. “He just wanted to know where I was.”

“When we go back to your house, are you going to tell him?” Aaron asks.

“Well, he’s going to wanna know why you’re at the house.” Thomas says. “Why I left. I think I have to tell him.” He looks down at Aaron. “Is that alright?”

Aaron nods, looking down. “It’s okay. I understand.” He tosses the rag in the sink, followed by Thomas’. “There’s still glass.”

“I know honey, I’m getting it.” Thomas nods. He quickly walks around the room and picks up the shattered pieces of glass, taking the time to salvage Aaron’s purple sippy cup from the mess on the floor. Printed on the sippy cup is a soccer ball and there are a couple stickers depicting pictures of birds and cars around the lid; Thomas thinks it’s utterly adorable. He tosses the gallon of milk- Now almost completely drained- into the trash and grabs the cup again. “Do you have any juice?”

“No,” Aaron shakes his head.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to get you some when we get to my house.” Thomas says. He takes Aaron’s hand and leads him to the front room, handing him his jacket. “Sit down, bud.” When Aaron sits down, he starts to pull on his coat as Thomas helps him get his shoes on. Once he’s ready to go, Thomas takes Aaron’s phone and texts Theo:

A.Burr: Heading out for a drive, I’ll be home later.


	3. Chapter 3

Thomas steps through the door, pulling Aaron behind him. “James, we're back!”  
“He’s in the room.” Lucy is sitting on the couch, watching tv. “Waiting for you.”  
“Wonderful,” Thomas says, wincing. “Come on, Aaron.” He says softly, tugging the boy behind him.  
“Why is Miss Lucy awake?” Aaron says as they tread the stairs. “It’s really late.”  
“Yeah, but she’s a big girl, so she can stay up late.” Thomas says. “Do you have a bedtime, little one? It must be real late for you.”  
“No.” Aaron says matter-of-factly.  
Right, Thomas thinks, mentally slapping himself upside the head. He doesn't have a caregiver, why would he have a bedtime? He pulls Aaron into his bedroom and closes the door.  
Thomas processes that the lights are on before anything else, and turns to ask James why he still had the lights on when he notices the binky is James’ downturned mouth. “James, you’re awake…”  
“You left me.” James pouts, arms folded across his chest. He see the pacifier in Aaron’s mouth and blinks. “What is…?”  
“I was hoping you’d be big when I explained this.” Thomas murmurs. He shakes his head. “I can explain.”  
“I’m like you!” Aaron says proudly. “I’m a Little boy! Your Daddy had to help me clean up some milk I spilled and that’s why he was gone for so long!”  
“Why couldn't your Daddy help you clean it up?” James glares.  
“That’s the thing.” Thomas says. “He doesn't… Have a Daddy like you do, James.”  
“So you just get Little all by yourself?” James asks.  
“Yeah.” Aaron says.  
“But- But who gets your juice and changes your pull-ups and plays with you and-” His eyes start to water.  
“I do it all by myself.” Aaron says, playing with his binky between his fingers. “I do all that stuff by myself.”  
James frowns. “Oh..” He looks down. “That’d be so scary.”  
“That’s why he’s going to stay here ‘til he’s big again.” Thomas says. “He doesn’t wanna be alone right now.”  
“What about Theo?” James says.  
“She’s not there right now,” Thomas says. “She can’t take care of him.” He looks down at Aaron and notices the empty sippy cup he’s holding. “Oh, right.” He says. “Aaron, honey, do you want some juice? I have apple juice and-”  
“Apple juice is good!” Aaron blurts. His eyes lights up and Thomas feels his heart swell a bit. He’s just so damn cute like this, nothing like the Aaron he usually knows.  
“Apple juice it is, then.” Thomas pats his head. “James, do you want juice or milk?”  
“Milk!” James coos. “Strawberry milk!”  
“Okay, baby.” Thomas kisses his head and takes Aaron’s cup, heading downstairs.  
James waits until he hears the door close, then he squints at Aaron, the tears gone from his eyes. “Stay away from him,” He glares.  
“What?” Aaron blinks.  
“Stay away from my Daddy.” James says. “He’s mine, you can’t have him.”  
“I don’t want him,” Aaron frowns, shaking his head and holding his hands up. “He’s just helping me cause no one else knows about me being-.”  
“Well, find someone else.” James huffs. “‘Cause he’s my Daddy.” He holds a stuffed animal to his chest bitterly, but Aaron cannot see what the animal is. He wants to ask but he feels like James will only be mean about it.  
“Okay,” Aaron frowns. “I’m sorry.” The two sit in silence until Thomas comes back, handing each boy their sippy cup. Aaron starts drinking it slowly, not looking at James. He tries to keep his hands from shaking, but each time he glances towards James, he sees him glaring at him over the rim of his own sippy cup and his heart races faster.  
“Are you okay, honey?” Thomas raises an eyebrow. Aaron’s been acting weird since he left for juice. He came back and Aaron looked so… Scared.  
“He’s okay.” James says.  
“I’m okay,” Aaron says quickly, nodding. Thomas eyes him for a moment. “Really.” He puts on his best smile for Thomas, who seems to buy it. He shrugs and goes back to rubbing James’ back while Aaron goes back to avoiding James’ eye.  
Once they’re done with their cups, James wraps his arms tightly around Thomas and buries his face into his side. “Daddy~”  
“What, Madi~?” Thomas hums.  
“Gotta burp!”  
Thomas chuckles. “Okay, honey.” He starts patting James on the back, waiting until he hears James let out a belch. “There we go, Madi. Good boy.”  
“Now I wanna lay down~” James says, chewing on the collar of Thomas’ shirt. “I’m sleepy.”  
“You’re sleepy?” Thomas coos. When James nods, he smiles. “Okay, we can lay down. Aaron, you tired?”  
“Y-Yeah…” Aaron says softly. Thomas lays down in the middle of the bed and James curls up next to him. Thomas pats the empty spot on his other side. “Over here, Aaron.”  
“Why does he get to sleep in our bed?” James snaps, pouting.  
“Because I’m not making him sleep on the floor.” Thomas says. He waves his hand. “Aaron, come here.”  
Aaron looks at James, frightened. “I-I think I’m okay.”  
“Aaron, come here.” Thomas repeats. He gently grabs Aaron’s wrist and pulls him towards them. Aaron finally submits and lays next to Thomas, hiding in face in the man’s shirt to avoid looking at James, who he already knows is fuming mad. “Good boy.” He rubs Aaron’s back and hears Aaron burp softly. “Ooh, there we go.” He chuckles.  
“Daddy, sing.” James coos sweetly.  
“What do you want me to sing, Madi?” Thomas hums.  
“Twinkle Twinkle!” James bounces, grinning.  
“I like Twinkle Twinkle,” Aaron smiles softly.  
As soon as he says it, James scowls. “Rock-A-Bye Baby.” He grumbles. “I changed my mind.”  
“Okay, that’s enough, James.” Thomas scolds softly. “I’m singing Twinkle Twinkle. It’s one you both like.” He starts singing softly, rubbing both boys’ backs soothingly to lull them to a half-asleep state. Once they’re almost asleep, his singing trails off. “Goodnight, you two.” He hear soft mumbles and sighing in response, and he finally closes his eyes. It doesn’t take long to hear the sounds of level breathing coming from the three of them.  
   
Thomas wakes up about an hour later to a stirring beside him. He keeps his eyes closed, hoping the stirring will simmer down and Aaron will fall back asleep, but soon Thomas realizes he’s not going back to bed. When he opens his eyes, he finds Aaron making his way to the floor.  
“Aaron?” Thomas says softly. Aaron tenses up, freezing in place. “What are you doing, man? Get back up here.”  
“I’m okay on the floor.” Aaron says softly, quickly ducking down where Thomas couldn’t see him. “It’s okay.”  
Thomas carefully untangles himself from James and scoots to the edge of the bed, peeking over to see Aaron curled up on the floor holding one of James’ stuffed sock monkies. “What are you doing, honey?” Thomas says. Aaron peeks up at him with wide eyes, filled with tears. “Aaron?”  
“I’m okay!” Aaron squeaks. Before Thomas can stop him, Aaron gets up and quickly flees the room. He hears a door slam and James groans softly at his side.  
“Shh, shh, Madi.” Thomas coos softly. “It’s okay, shh.” He pets James’ head until he stops tossing and turning and slowly gets out of bed. He quietly makes his way out to the hallway and looks around. After deciding the bathroom and Lucy’s room was out of the question, he settles on his study and gently pushes open the door. He quickly spots Aaron, hiding in the corner under a table, his knees tucked into his chest. “Aaron, honey.” Thomas kneels down in front of the table. “Baby, what’s wrong?”  
“Nothing!” Aaron sniffles, hiding his face. “I’m okay.”  
“You’re sitting under a table,” Thomas says quietly. “Aaron, honey, what’s wrong?”  
“Nothing!” Aaron insists.  
“Is it James?” Thomas says. Aaron is silent for a moment. “What did he say to you?”  
“Nothing,” Aaron says.  
“Well, obviously, he said something,” Thomas sighs. He decides to sit down next to the table, setting his head against the table. “Talk to me, sweetie.”  
“You shouldn’t be in here.” Aaron says softly, rubbing his nose against his pj pants. “You already got in trouble for being with me.”  
“Is that what this is about?” Thomas blinks. “Aaron, James is just jealous. It doesn’t mean you have to hide from me.” He reaches under the table and rubs Aaron’s cheek, frowning when Aaron flinches from his touch. “He’s just bein’ a butt, hon.”  
Aaron nods and Thomas chuckles. “I-I just don’t want him to be mad at me.”  
“Oh, he won’t be mad baby,” Thomas coos. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow. For now, though, let’s get back to bed.” He reaches for Aaron’s arm, and smiles when Aaron doesn’t shy away from him. “Come here honey, that’s it.” He pulls Aaron out from under the table and finally notices the sock monkey in his hand. “Oh, is that James’?”  
“Yeah,” Aaron says. “It fell outta his hand, so I grabbed it. It’s soft.”  
“He has a whole toy box full of them.” Thomas says. “Do you want one to sleep with?”  
Aaron nods. “Yeah.” Thomas leads him back to the bedroom and he sits on his side of the bed, setting the stuffed toy back in James’ hands.  
Thomas brings him a new sock monkey and lays down between the two Littles. “Here we go, now you both have stuffies.” He puts an arm around both boys. “Do you want me to sing to you again?”  
“No.” Aaron shakes his head. Thomas nods and closes his eyes, settling back in for sleep. After a few minutes of Aaron trying to rest his eyes and fall back asleep, he decides it’s impossible to go back to sleep. He nuzzles into Thomas’ side and fidgets with the sock monkey in his hands as he feels the rise and fall of Thomas’ chest against his head.  
He hears a soft humming, and it takes him a minute to realize it’s Thomas humming Twinkle Twinkle, the noise vibrating against Aaron’s head. He smiles a bit and feels his eyes flutter closed. The last thing he remembers is Thomas saying something he was too tired to understand.


	4. Chapter 4

Aaron is startled awake by the feeling of something getting ripped from his hands.

There are several things that quickly overstimulate him when he opens his eyes. The bright light of the mid-morning sun mixed with James’ sneering face standing over him nearly sends the boy into a panic. That on top of the fear that makes his blood run cold when he sees the stuffed toy James is holding makes his eyes well up.

“Give me that!” James growls. “That’s mine!”

“Y-Your Daddy gave it to me last night.” Aaron sniffles, sitting up. He winces softly when he feels wet material against his skin. “H-He said I could-”

“It’s mine,” James huffs, looking down at Aaron’s pants. “I don’t let bedwetting crybabies play with my toys.” He throws the toy back towards his toybox. “Breakfast is ready.” He huffs. He leaves the room with the slam of a door, leaving Aaron alone. Before Aaron can stop himself, he starts crying, curling up in the bed and hiding his face in the pillow.

He isn’t sure how long he stayed there crying, but it was long enough for him to hear Thomas coming up the stairs. He quickly drops to the floor and crawls under the bed, holding his breath when Thomas enters the room. He can see Thomas walking around the room, peeking in the closet and under tables. When he finally gets to the bed, he stays there, unmoving for what feels like forever. Aaron finally lets out a soft shallow breath, but apparently not soft enough because Thomas kneels down and looks at him, eyes concerned.

“Aaron?” He says softly.

“I’m sorry!” Aaron blurts “I didn't mean to pee in your bed a-and make James upset and sleep in, and I didn't mean-”

“Aaron, Aaron.” Thomas interjects. “I’m not mad at you for any of that.”

“Then why are you mad?”

“I’m not.” Thomas says. “I’m not mad at all.”

“N-Not even cause I peed in the bed?” Aaron whimpers.

“No, honey.” Thomas says. “It was an accident, I’m not gonna be mad at that.” He reaches for Aaron. “We do have to get you cleaned up, though; breakfast is getting cold.” He pulls Aaron out from under the bed. “Poor thing,” He mutters when he sees Aaron’s pants.

“I-I don’t have anymore clothes.” Aaron whimpers. His pants are already cooling and becoming more uncomfortable by the second.

“Don’t worry,” Thomas says. “We’re gonna clean these ones.” He helps Aaron to his feet and leads him to the bathroom. “Take those icky pants off, hon.” Thomas turns away, digging in a diaper bag while Aaron strips out of his PJs. When he turns back around, Aaron sees he’s holding a pack of wipes and a pull-up in his hands.

“No diaper!” Aaron whines loudly, backing into the wall.

“But honey~” Thomas hums, gently grabbing Aaron’s wrist. He pulls a wet wipe out of the pack and starts working on Aaron. “You gotta wear somethin’ while I wash your clothes.”

“No!” Aaron whines. He tries to squirm away, but Thomas keep a tight grip on his hips, holding him in place until he has the diaper secured on him.

Once he’s done, Thomas pats his head. “Good boy, Aaron.”

Aaron can’t help but blush at the praise. He scrunches up his face and squirms, trying to get used to the feeling of the padded material under him. He’s never worn diapers before, but he had seen James wear them when he stayed here with the flu, and he had always been curious as to what it would feel like. After a moment, it actually feels… Nice.

“There, isn’t that better?” Thomas hums softly. “Let’s go get you some food now.”

“But my pants.” Aaron says softly. He look down at his diaper, realizing it’s very exposed, white against his dark skin. With no pants on, it’s the first thing that will draw anyone’s eyes.

“Your pants need to be washed, Aaron,” Thomas says. “Don’t worry, I’ll give them back to you soon.”

“I can’t g-go downstairs like this.” Aaron says, his eyes welling up again. He thinks of going downstairs in only a t-shirt and diaper and he starts crying again; the humiliation would be too much.

“Hey, hey.” Thomas squeaks and pulls Aaron close. “You’re alright. Why can’t you go downstairs?”

“C-Cause James and Lucy are gonna laugh at me!” Aaron whimpers.

“Baby, they aren’t gonna laugh at you.” Thomas shakes his head. “Lucy doesn’t care whether you’re wearing a diaper or not, and James has one on too, so he can’t laugh.” He rubs Aaron’s shoulder. “You’re gonna be okay, Aaron. You don’t have to worry about things all the time.” He watches Aaron’s face as the boy sniffles and wipes his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. “You need to relax a bit more, sweetie.”

“Relax?” Aaron looks up at him.

“Yeah, relax.” Thomas chuckles. “You’re spending so much time stressing out over things that you’re in between Little and Big spaces. If you relax a bit more, you’ll be further into Little space.”

“But-But I am Little!” Aaron says.

“I know, I never said you weren’t,” Thomas says. “It’s just that you’re still too big, you’ve been worried about things little babies shouldn’t worry about.”

“Thomas!” Lucy calls up the stairs. “James wants breakfast, come on!”

“Coming!” Thomas calls back. He turns to Aaron and smiles at him. “Now come on, let’s go get some food. And remember, relax.”

Aaron nods and takes Thomas’ hand. He takes a deep breath and tries to relax as the two head downstairs to the dining room, greeted by Lucy and James. When Lucy looks up from her phone and sees Aaron, she blinks for a few seconds before nodding. James looks up from his plate and glares at Aaron.

“Lucy, can you wash these for Aaron?” Thomas says, handing her the soiled clothes. Lucy takes them and leaves, muttering something under her breath about not being a housekeeper. “James.” Thomas says. “Why aren't you eating, hon?”

“It’s cold.” James huffs. “We waited for Aaron, so now it’s all icky,” He glares at Aaron, who hides his face.

“I’ll make you some more, Madi.” Thomas says, leading Aaron to a seat. As soon as Thomas has his back turned to the stove, James sneers at him, narrowing his eyes. “Do you want some pancakes, Aaron?”

“Yeah,” Aaron says softly.

“Do you want blueberry or banana pancakes?” Thomas asks.

“Blueberry.” Aaron says.

“Okay, honey.” Thomas says. While he begins making another batch of pancake batter, Lucy comes back in and sits between Aaron and James. Aaron is grateful for the separation, even more so when he realizes he can’t see James glaring at him.

“Clothes are in the washer.” She says to Aaron, who nods. “Thomas, should I make them bottles?”

“Yeah, go for it.” Thomas says. “You boys want some milk?”

“Yeah!” James squeals, clapping his hands.

Aaron bites his lip and nods. “M-My cup is upstairs.”

“You can use one of James’ bottles.” Thomas says.

“No!” James whines. “They’re my bottles!”

“James, I don't know what has gotten into you.” Thomas sighs, putting his cooking utensils down and turning to the others. “You’ve been mean to Aaron since last night. I know you don't want anyone else to have my attention, but Aaron is our friend and he needs help, so you’re going to have to share-”

“But you're  _ my _ Daddy!” James blurts, slamming his hands on the table. “Mine! And you're letting him take you from me! And my toys, and my bed, and my bottles!”

“James, he’s not taking any of that from you.” Thomas says. Lucy carefully hands Aaron a bottle full of milk and he nods his thanks. “He just wants to be Little. Remember when you were first Little, and we had to use all your little sister’s baby stuff cause we couldn’t buy all new stuff?” When James nods and grumbles to himself, Thomas nods. “Aaron doesn’t have any baby stuff he can steal cause all the baby stuff is for Theo’s baby. You can share this stuff with him until he buys his own stuff.”

“But I can’t share you!” James protests.

“Why not?”

“C-Cause then you’ll pay more attention to him instead of me!” James sputters.

“Madi, you know that’s not true.” Thomas bends down so he’s eye level with James. “You’re my Little Madi, and I’ll always give you attention. Aaron’s new to this, so I want to help him figure things out, that’s all. Once he finds a caregiver and he’s comfortable with being Little, I won’t have to help him anymore. Does that sound okay?”

James looks at Aaron with a pouted lip, his glare slowly softening into an understanding look. He slowly nods and leans back in his seat, relaxing his stance.

Aaron smiles softly at him. “A-And don’t worry, next time I’ll bring my own stuffie so I don’t gotta use yours.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Thomas gasps. “Little Jamie is still at the office!”

“Jamie?” James blinks.

“Yeah!” Thomas grins. “Aaron named his little stuffie Jamie.” He pats James’ head as the boy blushes.

“Thomas,” Lucy says, setting James’ cup of milk in front of him. “The pancakes.”

“Oh, for the love of-!” Thomas hurriedly turns back to the stove and pulls the pan of burnt pancakes off the burner, both Littles giggling. “Okay, you know what?” He drops the pan on the counter with a bitter huff. “That’s two batches of pancakes ruined today, let’s just wait for Aaron’s pants to dry, and we’ll go somewhere else for breakfast.”

“I like IHOP!” Aaron yells. He covers his mouth, surprised by his own outburst.

“Me too!” James grins.

“Okay,” Thomas says. “IHOP it is, then.”

“With the boys still in pajamas?” Lucy chuckles.

“Sure, why not?” Thomas looks at the clock. “It’s only 10:30.”

The boys giggle and drink their milk as Thomas finally relaxes into his seat. He drinks his coffee and watches the boys mumble and giggles among each other and smiles. To think, less then half an hour ago, Aaron was under the bed, terrified of what awaited him downstairs. Now the boys are laughing together having a good time. When they come home from IHOP, the two would probably go back upstairs and play until naptime. Then, if Aaron was feeling up to it, Thomas could take him home before Theo-

Oh shit.

“Aaron, honey.” Thomas stands up. “Where’s your phone?”

“It’s upstairs.” Aaron frowns. “Why?”

“Just thought I should text Theo back.” Thomas says. “Let her know you’re okay.” He goes upstairs and looks around for a moment before spotting Aaron’s cell phone on the night stand. He has 4 missed calls from Theo and 11 texts, all reading something along the lines of, “Are you okay?”

Thomas quickly types out a response:

A.Burr: Hey it’s Thomas. Aaron’s asleep, but he’s at my house, don’t worry about him.

Thomas gets a response immediately:

Theo: Why is he at your house?

A.Burr: Don’t worry about it, just know he’s okay and he’ll be home before dinnertime.

“Aaron’s pants are dry!” Lucy calls up the stairs. “We’re waiting on you!”

“Okay, hang on!” Thomas calls back. He heads downstairs and hands Aaron’s phone to him. “There you go, hon.”

Aaron smiles and nods, putting the phone in his pocket. “IHOP, IHOP!” He chants excitedly.

“IHOP!” James chants along with him.

“Okay, okay, we’re going.” Thomas chuckles. “Go get in the car.”

The boys and Lucy run out to the car and Thomas spots something on the ground just before walking out the door. When he gets closer and picks it up, he noticed it’s a small purple pacifier with a cat on it. Thomas grins and tucks it into his shirt pocket before heading out to the car.


	5. Chapter 5

“You can get whatever you want here, boys.” Thomas says as everyone is looking over their menus. “Breakfast is on me today.”

“I’m gonna get chocolate chip pancakes!” Aaron announces, putting his menu down. “And milk!”

“I want crepes!” James says.

“Okay, then.” Thomas says. “Now we have to wait for the waitress to come over. Just be patient.”

While they wait, Lucy pulls some crayons out of her purse and Thomas watches the boys draw on some napkins. James’ hand flies across the napkin in a flurry of colors, while Thomas notices Aaron’s hand moves slow and the colors he’s using seem to create an actual picture, as opposed to the mess on James’ canvas. He coos quietly over both drawings until the waitress comes over, a pretty Asian girl with shiny brown eyes. She smiles politely at the table and hold her pencil steady against her notepad.

“Can I start you off with any drinks?” She says. Thomas notices her name tag says ‘Martha’.

“Yes, uh,” Thomas looks around. “Two glasses of orange juice, a water, and some milk.”

“Okay,” Martha quickly writes it down and looks around the table. Thomas sees her eyes catch on the napkins, but he decides to not try to explain himself here. So what if she sees the boys acting Little? Would it make a difference in the charm she is expected to give all customers? “Do you know what you want to eat yet?” She doesn’t seem to miss a beat.

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” Thomas looks at the menu once more. “I need an order of chocolate chip pancakes for him, a ham and cheese breakfast crepe for him, a plate of buttermilk pancakes for me, and she wants…?” He trails off and looks at Lucy.

“I’ll have a strawberry-banana crepe,” Lucy says, stacking all the menus to give to Martha.

Martha takes the menus with a smile. “Okay, I can have that all out to you soon.” She turns on her heel and skips away, and Thomas smiles.

“Thankfully she didn’t say anything.” He says softly, fidgeting with his silverware.

“What would we do if she did?” Aaron looks up from his napkin, frowning.

“Just avoid eye contact.” Lucy snorts. “She’ll go away eventually.”

“No,” Thomas says. “I tell people staring makes James uncomfortable and they usually stop.” He glances back at James, humming softly and scribbling on his napkin. “People usually just think he’s….. Slow.”

Aaron looks over at James and frowns “And you just let them think that?”

“It’s easier than explaining what’s really happening.” Thomas says honestly. “Besides, they don't see him again, so it’s not like it sticks.” He smiles at Martha as drinks are brought to the table. He takes a moment to process the two kiddie cups sitting on the tray before quickly taking the drinks and passing them to James and Aaron.

Lucy clears the rest of the tray and hands it back to Martha, who quickly walks away. “How did she..?” Lucy trails off, stirring her water with her straw. She peeks at Aaron, who is quickly chugging his milk. James seems content with his small glass of OJ, and Thomas is staring with the same confusion as Lucy down at his drink.

“I didn't say kiddie cups, right?” Thomas says.

“No, we ordered normal drinks.” Lucy nods.

“Then how?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

“Maybe she knows.” Aaron says.

“Not likely.” Thomas says

“Well, maybe not.” Aaron says, peeking over Thomas’ shoulder with a smile. “She seems to know somethin’.” Before Thomas can protest, Martha comes back, setting down a small stack of coloring pages and a small box of crayons on the table. “Thank you!” Aaron grins as Martha turns and leaves.

Thomas blinks at the coloring pages for a moment and grins. “Well, uh, guess that helps us. Color on those, boys.”

Aaron giggles and hands James some coloring pages. Thomas notices that Aaron’s hand doesn't leave the picture on his napkin, like he’s hiding it. The only time he takes his hand off of it is when he covers it with another page to color.

After a few minutes of that, food is brought to them, and Thomas chuckles softly. Aaron’s pancakes have a chocolate chip smiley face and James’ crêpe is already cut up into pieces, while Thomas and Lucy’s plates are exactly how they ordered them. This woman obviously did know something about what was going on; she could differentiate between the Littles and the caregivers with nothing more than a few trips by the table.

“Can I get you some more milk, sweetie?” She leans down and asks Aaron. Aaron nods and smiles at her before returning to his picture of a truck. “And some orange juice for this one?” She nods at James, who is too distracted with coloring a deer to say anything.

“Yes,” Thomas nods “Thank you.” Martha walks away and Thomas looks at Lucy “This is unbelievable. Someone’s actually being nice about this.”

“We need to come here more often.” Lucy chuckles

“I guess so.” Thomas says.

“Boys, put your crayons away, food’s here.” Lucy starts shoving her crayons back in her purse as the boys stack their pictures in the corner of the table.

“Thank you, Daddy!” James says, quickly digging into his crepe.

“Yeah, thanks, Daddy!”

Lucy spits out her food and James gasps. Thomas doesn’t seem to notice at first, he just continues eating. Aaron realizes what he said and his face flushes. He quickly averts his eyes to his food and picks at it absently.

“Thomas,” Lucy says softly.

“Hm?” Thomas look up from his plate and looks at each face. James and Lucy are both staring wide-eyed at Aaron, who picks at his food now in uncomfortable silence. “What?” His brain finally catches up with itself after another moment of silence and he gasps softly. “Oh, Aaron…”

“I-I didn’t mean that,” Aaron says quickly. “I’m sorry.”

“I told you!” James hisses accusingly.

“He’s not stealing me, James.” Thomas scolds, waving dismissively at him. James leans back in his seat and pouts. “Aaron-”

“I said I didn’t mean it.” He says. “Y-You don’t have to talk about it-”

“I know I don’t, but I think it’s best if we do.” Thomas says. “Aaron, do you want me to be your Daddy? Be honest.”

“N-No,” Aaron says. “I don’t know why I said that.”

“Yes you do,” Thomas nods. “You don’t just say stuff like that and not mean it.” He leans forward so Aaron looks up at him. “You don’t have to worry about James,” Thomas whispers.

“I told you,” Is all James mumbles in response.

Aaron looks from James to Thomas, lip quivering. He feels his heart start bumping a little harder in his chest and he feels the whole table’s eyes digging into him. He whimpers and leans back in his seat, away from Thomas and without touching James.

“No,” Thomas coos. “No, no, no. Don’t cry.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out Aaron’s pacifiers, quickly sliding it across the table. “You’re okay, Aaron.”

Aaron quickly scoops up the pacifier and rolls it between his fingers, still not looking at anyone. James is still glaring- he can see that from the corner of his eye- but Lucy is already eating again, leaving these three to their personal business. Thomas, though, is looking right at him. Aaron slides the pacifier in his mouth and does his best to wipe away the tears that threaten to fall.

Thomas doesn’t speak the whole time, quietly shushing James each time he tries to talk. He wants Aaron to have his own voice and not be scared, something his older counterpart can never grasp the concept of. To give Aaron this voice, Thomas needs to let him find it on his own, without leading him or trying to put words in the boy’s mouth.

After what feels like forever- Lucy has finished her food and is now trying to force James to eat as Martha brings drink refills- Aaron finally mumbles something behind his pacifier and Thomas smiles softly.

“What was that?” He says.

“I-I said yes.” Aaron says a little louder.

“But Daddy-!” James whines.

“James, shh, don’t yell.” Thomas says, avoiding the stares of several tables that had turned around. “We can talk about this in the car, okay?” He gets up and lays down a few bucks as a tip to Martha, grabbing James’ hand and pulling him to his feet before picking up the stack of coloring pages. Aaron frowns and look down at his pancakes- mostly uneaten- and huffs at the smiley face in distaste as Lucy leads him to the car.

Once they’re in the car, James kicks Thomas’ seat. “You can’t have another Little! I’m your Little!”

“Hey!” Lucy huffs. “Don’t kick!”

“James,” Thomas sighs. “Just because Aaron wants me to be his Daddy doesn’t mean you have to stop being my Little.” He turns around in his seat and looks at James. “You don’t have to be stingy.”

“But you’re  _ my _ Daddy!” James whimpers. He reaches out and grips Thomas’ hand tightly, nuzzling it against his face. “Mine! Mine, mine, mine!”

“Honey, I can have more than one Little,” Thomas says. “It’s not like you have to stop being mine just because I take Aaron in. People have more than one Little all the time.”

“I didn’t want to cause this much trouble,” Aaron says softly. “Just forget I said it.”

“No,” Thomas says. “Because I feel like this needs to happen. James is so scared I’m going to stop caring about him that he won’t let me take care of you. You don’t have anyone, Aaron, and I want to help.”

“Thomas, you can’t blame him for being jealous,” Lucy says.

“Well, it’s not even jealousy anymore,” Thomas says. “That’s the thing.”

“You’re gonna like Aaron better than me!” James says. “And then you won’t want me!”

“Is that what JJ made you believe?” Thomas says.

James flinches. It had actually been a long time since he had heard that name, years even. Thomas promised him he would never have to hear that name again.

“Is that it?” Thomas says “JJ told you you’d be replaced if another Little came into the picture, right?”

James looks down, still clutching Thomas’ hand tightly. “Daddy…”

“Who’s JJ?” Aaron whispers to Lucy. He receives a shrug and looks at Thomas for answers

“James’ old caregiver.” Thomas says “Before I was his Daddy.”

“You weren't his first Daddy?” Aaron frowns.

“No.” Thomas says “Back before James and I were together, this guy we called JJ took care of him. He was something straight out of a nightmare.” He readjusts in his seat so he’s facing Aaron. “Do you remember when you last changed James’ diaper, and he had little pockmarks and scars on his thighs?”

“Uh-huh…” Aaron frowns. He didn’t want to ask about them when he saw them, but he still remembers them vividly. At first he thought they might’ve been chickenpox scars, except that was the only place they were. “Did he do that?”

“Those are from really bad diaper rashes.” Thomas explains. “James stays Little for a few days at a time, and a few times, JJ left him in soiled diapers for days until he got big again.”

“Ew,” Aaron frowns and looks at James. James quickly hides his face in his arms, embarrassed.

“Yeah, and that’s just one thing. This guy did some messed-up stuff to James.” Thomas nods. “That’s why James came to me and asked me to be his new caretaker.” He pets James’ hair, smiling sadly as James whimpers and clings to his hand, nuzzling into it. “And I’m sure JJ also told him he’d be replaced by other Littles, right?” He glances at James, who just whimpers again.

“That’s not true, though!” Aaron frowns and grabs James’ other hand. “I ain’t gonna replace you!” James sniffles and looks at him. “We can both have Thomas for a Daddy! We can be bubbies!”

James hides his face in Thomas’ sleeve for a minute, contemplating. Deep down, he knows it’s time to prove JJ wrong, but… But…

What if he’s not? What if JJ was right and Daddy will treat Aaron better, and what if James feels left out, then what? He can’t have Alex be his Daddy, cause Alex is John’s Daddy, and John is very scary when he gets jealous and-

It dawns on him slowly. If Thomas stopped being his Daddy, he’d have no choice but to go to Alex. But that would make John jealous and then John and Alex would fight because James was ruining everything. He looks at Aaron and frowns. The scenario sounds all too familiar to the boy, and slowly he realizes what he has to do. It’s time to prove JJ wrong.

“H-He has no one else…” James mutters softly.

“What, Madi?” Thomas says softly, leaning down to hear better.

“He can st-stay.”

“Yay~!” Lucy coos softly.

Aaron feels a weight lifted off his shoulders, and he quickly wraps his arms around James in a warm hug. James giggles and leans against him.

“Thank God we sorted this out,” Thomas mumbles, mostly to himself. In the hand that James isn’t clinging to, he still holds the coloring pages from earlier. He managed to sift through the pages and find the napkin Aaron had been drawing on earlier, curious to see what he was covering up earlier. It hadn’t occurred to him back in the restaurant that the drawings Aaron was making were stick figures, standing all in a row. He stared at the three figures on the napkin as James and Aaron were carrying on with each other, and quickly noticed Aaron had drawn himself standing with Thomas and James. Now, knowing it won't start any problems, Thomas hands the napkin back and sets it in between the boys.

Aaron notices it first and scoops it up, shoving it into the pocket of his pajama bottoms before James can see it. He glances up at Thomas and grins innocently.

“Ready to go home boys?” Lucy grins

“Yeah!” The two squeal, bouncing in their seats.

“Then let’s-Oh!” Thomas squeaks when he hear a loud rapping on his window, and looks over to see Martha standing there, smiling at him. He rolls his window down with a raised eyebrow “Um… Hi?”

“I think one of your boys left this.” Martha holds out her hand and drops Aaron’s purple pacifier into his hand.

“My binky!” Aaron squeals.

“Kid, I swear!” Thomas chuckles, handing it back to him. “You’ve left that behind several times now!”

“Sorry~” Aaron giggles.

“Thank you,” Thomas looks at Martha.

“Not a problem, sir,” Martha smiles knowingly at the boys in the backseat. “Trust me, I know how upset Littles can get when they find their stuff missing.”

James gasps softly and leans over so he can see her better. “You know?”

“How?” Lucy blinks.

“Long story,” Martha waves her hand. “I need to get back inside, anyways. Have a good day, guys.” She waves at the backseat and quickly heads back inside.

Thomas looks back at Aaron, happily suckling his binky. “I’ll have to get you a clip to keep that attached to your shirt,” He chuckles. “So you’ll stop leaving it everywhere.”

Aaron giggles and nods. “Okay, Daddy.”


End file.
